For Active Members

Section 3.1 Active employees: All forms mentioned in the section may be found on the Forms tab of this section.

Beneficiary Forms:

Employees are encouraged to keep their beneficiary forms on file with the Pension System updated any time a life event results in the need to change their beneficiary (EX. Marriage, divorce, death of beneficiary, etc.). Until an employee is vested in their respective division of the System, the beneficiary form is the correct form to submit to the Pension office to update beneficiary information.

Pre-retirement Options:

Once an employee is vested in their respective division of the System, the employee is encouraged to submit a pre-retirement option form to the Pension office. A member of the System, except for members of Plan F, may elect, prior to his or her retirement date, to have a retirement benefit payable under one of the options listed below in the “Retirements” section. Once filed with the Pension Office, the pre-retirement option form will be used to administer benefits payable in the event of death of the employee. Employees are encouraged to keep the pre-retirement option form updated any time a life event results in the need to change his or her beneficiary.(EX. Marriage, divorce, death of a beneficiary,etc)

A-7 Option – 50% with reinstatement (PopUp). Upon retired employee’s death beneficiary receives 50 % of retiree’s pension for lifetime. Should beneficiary’s death occur prior to retired employee’s death, monthly pension would revert to normal form of benefit to retired employee.

A-8 Option – 75% with reinstatement (PopUp). Upon retired employee’s death beneficiary receives 75 % of retiree’s pension for lifetime. Should beneficiary’s death occur prior to retired employee’s death, monthly pension would revert to normal form of benefit to retired employee.

A-9 Option – 100% with reinstatement (PopUp). Upon retired employee’s death beneficiary receives 100% of retiree’s pension for lifetime. Should beneficiary’s death occur prior to retired employee’s death, monthly pension would revert to normal form of benefit to retired employee.

II: OPTION B – PERIOD CERTAIN AND LIFE – Beneficiary(ies) may be changed after retirement

B-10 Option – 5 years Certain and Life. Upon retired employee’s death the same monthly benefit is payable to beneficiary for a period of 5 years less the amount of time that retired employee had been receiving benefits. If no beneficiary is living the value, discounted with interest, of the remaining guaranteed payments will be paid in a lump sum to the estate of the beneficiary.

B-11 Option – 10 years Certain and Life. Upon retired employee’s death the same monthly benefit is payable to beneficiary for a period of 10 years less the amount of time that retired employee had been receiving benefits. If no beneficiary is living the value, discounted with interest, of the remaining guaranteed payments will be paid in a lump sum to the estate of the beneficiary.

B-12 Option – 15 years Certain and Life. Upon retired employee’s death the same monthly benefit is payable to beneficiary for a period of 15 years less the amount of time that retired employee had been receiving benefits. If no beneficiary is living the value, discounted with interest, of the remaining guaranteed payments will be paid in a lump sum to the estate of the beneficiary.

Upon retired employee’s death beneficiary is entitled to a one-time payment of the unused actuarial value of the retiree’s benefit. Unused actuarial value of the retiree’s benefit is determined by subtracting all benefit payments made to retiree from the actuarial value of the retiree’s benefit determined at the time of retirement using actuarial assumptions adopted by the Pension Board.

Eligibility and details of retirement requirements are dependent upon which plan the employee is a member. Descriptions of the plans may be found at the “About the Plans” tab. A questionnaire for requesting an estimate for retirement including DROP and Normal retirement options is on the forms page to assist Nancy with providing the most accurate information to employees interested in retiring. (link this to the questionnaire on the forms page)

Disability Retirement

There are two types of disability retirement provisions for employees 1) in-line of duty, which is requested if the employee is injured as a result of a work related incident and is permanently disabled and 2) not in-line of duty, which is requested if the employee is permanently disabled for either a physical or mental disability not as a result of a work related incident. The provisions for each of these types of disabilities are specific to which plan the employee is a member. There are procedures in place for applying for a disability retirement which can be found in the forms section of the website. The application and the medical certification forms are also on the forms page. Once all the information is provided to the System, the Pension Board will evaluate the request on an individual basis based on the information provided and make a determination. Disability retirements requests are processed and initially evaluated byKristi Paczkowski Kristi Fowler Paczkowski, Executive Director, kristip@cokpension.org, 865-215-1446 if you have any questions. (link to Kristi’s contact info on Board and Administration Page)

Refunds:

Members or former members of the City of Knoxville Employees’ Pension System desiring to withdraw their employee contributions from the System upon a termination of service need to sign and file a written application for refund of employee contributions with the Pension Board. The application, based on the plan the employee is a member of for a refund can be found in the Forms page of this section and must be approved by the Pension Board at their next regularly scheduled Board meeting. Refund of Contributions requests are processed by Whitney BeanWhitney Bean, Pension Assistant, wbean@cokpension.org, 865-215-1441 if you have any questions.